Rural communities in Trumbull County, Ohio now have access to safe, clean, reliable drinking water delivered by 24 miles of new water main designed by B&N. The new water main, along with a booster station and an elevated water storage tank, are the products of the Blueprint Water Line Initiative. The Initiative addressed longstanding concerns about the water quality provided by the Village of West Farmington’s old and outdated treatment plant and service lines. Prior to the project, the leaking service lines severely impacted the Village’s limited operating funds and left little money for updates.
The completed project now brings cleaner and more reliable water to residents and businesses in the impacted communities.
A Top Priority Made Possible
The Village was ranked among the state’s top funding priorities for public drinking water improvements. When the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approached the Trumbull County Board of Commissioners in 2016 about making improvements, the initiative was conceived.
With assistance from B&N, the County’s first step was to seek buy-in from the affected parties and outline the EPA’s funding plan. From the initial proposal to design phase, the project has included extensive public outreach and several town meetings with interested parties including the impacted community and residents along the route of the water mains.
The project garnered community support and was made possible thanks to a unique funding plan with the direct support of the Ohio EPA. The funding plan included a grant that covered three quarters of the $15.7 million total project cost, and a loan for the remaining one quarter with zero interest over 30 years. Users choosing to connect pay a small fee included on their water bill over 30 years. The uncommon funding arrangement offered the County and users an affordable option that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible.
Designing a Solution
The solution includes taking water out of the Ohio River basin and transferring it to the Lake Erie basin. Because the water crosses the Continental Divide, B&N developed a water model to confirm that the plans would fall below the threshold of 100,000 gallons-per-day, above which would require a permit.
In addition to the water modeling, B&N provided services including:
- Design of all water distribution lines
- Design of water service line replacements, main line water valves, fire hydrants, and water meter replacements after extensive leak detection was completed for customers in West Farmington
- Environmental services
- Oversight and inspection of the elevated water storage tank and booster station designs
- Services during construction